Spend your summer giving back!
One of the more unique experiences with ACA is our community service programs. We offer two – Costa Rica + Panama and Hawaii + SoCal. These programs offer an opportunity to give back while also learning about the area’s culture and fueling your adventure while still being able to relax under the sun.
Our Costa Rica program takes you into the heart of the country. This incredible opportunity offers students the chance to work together with locals building up their community while learning about their culture and lifestyle. You may find the experience humbling, but what’s most important is realizing the impact you’re having on their lives. Projects include volunteering at a day care center, assisting at an animal rescue center, renewing a river, sustaining agriculture on an organic farm, and building a school playground.
When you’ve completed your day’s volunteering, you’ll have all the fun offerings of summer, but with a little flair. Adventure to volcanos and the rain forest, go zip lining, relax in hot springs, see the sights in San Jose, are just some of the unique experiences after a hard day’s work. If you so choose, after your time in Costa Rica, you’ll venture down to Panama where the adventure continues with trips to see the Panama Canal, an Embera Indian Village, and much more!
Our other offering is on the shores of the Pacific Ocean. Our Hawaiian service program allows campers to visit Honolulu and the Big Island. In Honolulu you’ll help protect marine life including the Hawaiian Green Sea Turtles, the largest hard-shelled turtle in the world coming in at over 300 pounds! This majestic animal holds great cultural significance to the people of Hawaii. You’ll also spend time visiting a children’s shelter, lending a hand to at-risk kids. On the Big Island you’ll get the very special experience of helping with the special olympics in Kona, assisting with opportunities to develop physical fitness and participate in a sharing of gifts, skills, and friendship. You’ll also work with rescued animals at a shelter and help rebuild and repair kennels and walk and play with the animals.
You’ll wrap up your Pacific adventures by heading back to the mainland, in Malibu, CA. A beach and surfer haven, you’ll spend your community service hours replanting trees in the Santa Monica Mountains, lending a helping hand at Big Heart Ranch Malibu, organic farming at GrowGood Inc, and cleaning up the beaches. Once you’re finished for the day, you can catch some rays or waves or take in Malibu’s markets and shops, and sunsets that can’t be beat.
If you’re looking for a unique summer that will allow you to give back, engulf yourself in rich culture, and have a lot of fun along the way, our community service summer programs are for you!
